Pete
Earlier this year, a man from Iowa – who honestly just seems really nice – was officially recognized by Guinness World Records for having the world’s largest pencil collection.
KCCI made the announcement on Sunday.
“Numbers-wise, I knew I could beat the record,” Aaron Bartholmey, the pencil collector, told the outlet.
Bartholmey, a junior high school math teacher who really seems to care about his students as he took them to the YMCA for a fun afternoon of ping pong in 2018, started building his pencil collection in 1st grade and has amassed a staggering 69,255.
He started collecting them when he went to flea markets with his grandpa, which leads us to believe Aaron came from a nice family.
UPI reports that Aaron “held a public counting event during the summer with help from the American Pencil Collectors Society” before submitting the results to Guinness.
The American Pencil Collectors Society is also in Iowa, probably because that’s where Aaron lives.
His collection includes commemorative and historic pencils, sports team pencils, pencils with business logos, and other types of pencils.
“I’ve just always enjoyed the stories that the pencils can tell,” Bartholmey told The Washington Post in what we can only imagine was a very pleasant tone.
The previous record holder was Emilio Arenas of Uruguay, who had about 24,000 pencils in his stash. But here’s the thing about Emilio Arenas: he also collects other things.
He collects keychains, perfume bottles and ash trays, and according to a blog called Pencils and Other Things, Arenas has won Guinness records for not just pencils, but also, other things.
Not only that, but get this: the guy has a museum showcasing his collections (i.e. feeding his ego).
We think it’s safe to say Emilio Arenas is in the pencil-collecting game for all the wrong reasons, and we’re glad the record now sits with a nice guy.
